Alternative Group 01-01-02
 

We are a group of non-traditional lifestyle individuals. We are partnered, single, widowed, Pagan, Atheist, Agnostic, Christian, Muslim, gay, bi-sexual, bi-colored and straight. We bask in our diversity and unite in the same goal of losing weight. If you are relatively open-minded and accepting of ALL walks of life, please join us.

New Year, new month, new thread!

I love everyones enthusasium! I hope this translates into lots of pounds lost forever! I am doing good so far. I have no doubt I can keep this up as long as I go grocery shopping! The spicy chicken bocas aren't half bad. I am at 183.5. I think my lowest was 179 at the begining of Nov. I hate loosing the same pounds over and over again! But this time I will be victorious! I am off to get dressed and walk a few miles. The sun is out, my tummy has been fed, and I could use the time to listen to the birds sing! Happy New years everyone! ~flower

I love the ability to take off the old year and embrace the new! :)

L

Hey Guys

Happy New Year!

Didn't like the scales this morning! Even though I started this year 32 pounds lighter than last year I am up 6 pounds this month. I have 20 pounds left to loose and I am setting the goal for that loss as March 15. I think that is do-able. I keep gaining and losing the same 6 pounds but I feel confident that my bad month of December is past and I can do this! I hope that I can keep this attitude!

I am setting priority of posting to fitday every day. I still think if I have to write it down it wont pass these lips.....

Hugs to everyone,
Amy

Have you done your exercise today?

I did! I did! I walked (very briskly - it was COLD!) for 30 minutes around noon, then came in, chugged some water and set to work cleaning this place. I've JUST stopped. It's a beautiful sunny day here and still no snow *knock on wood*. The light in my living room is a warm gold right now as the sun begins to lower.....and there's no dust to be seen! :D Everything is shiny and clean and organized and smells great. That's how I want my life to be...shiny, clean, organized, and smelling great. What are the odds? :rolleyes: Anyway, off to a good start.

I still want to get in an arm workout and some crunches.

Flower, you sound much better!

Amyjo, we are all going to accomplish great things this year!

Have to go inspect DD's bedroom. She's been cleaning all day too. :s:

Happy New Year!!!!
 

Just checking in, girls. So far, so good! I'm feeling very positive about things again. I'll go back to work tomorrow--in a way it'll be good to get back in the old routine again.

I'm back to keeping a food journal again--haven't for a couple of weeks. I absolutely have to get back on track---my clothes aren't fitting well, not a good sign!

I got my 20 min on the stationary bike in today ... would have done longer but it was hurting my butt! :)

I walked 3977 steps or 1.63 miles. The best part was walking was walking thru the crumbly leaves. So cool to hear the crunch of them underneath my feet. The best part was they are way dry so no sign of hidden bugs!

I discoved Starbucks has soy milk. Now I can enjoy the occasional coffee out with no tummy ache! I am off to go into all my files on my computer that I never use and find myself an excersice log to pring out and fill out. It is easier to use a pen that to go type it in every day.

I am going to start the situps tonight too. I am also going to start an excersice file to file all my articles I have torn out so they are accesible when I need info or modivation...I need to figure out a dinner for us too. I have no ideas. Didn't make it to the store. We have freezer food. I should go inventory everything. Tootles~ :) flower

Well I've had 96 oz of water today, which is very good for me. (hard time drinking water)

What a busy place! We sound very motivated.

My decorations are away, and the tree is down and gone to the arena to be eventually turned into chips.

Wish I could say my house is spotless for I too feel best when my surroundings are tidy, but my bathroom does look lovely.

Time to clean the kitchen and hit the sack.

L

Day #5 and so far I am feeling great. I still feel kind of nauseous in the morning -- probably a combo of hunger and black coffee hitting that empty stomach -- but yesterday I didn't even really feel hungry. I haven't been very active, though. Haven't left the house, actually. Today I have to drop off work at the p/t job, tomorrow I go to the weight clinic, and on Saturday I have to go into the city to take an exam as part of the application to one of the schools I applied to. So I'll be increasing my activity a little before returning to work. I'm going to try that 2 mile walk video today, I think.

Everyone sounds motivated and focused, and I have confidence in all of you!

I'm curious to see how my weight is tomorrow at the clinic compared to Saturday's weight. I'll let you know.

Hey, you guys, we were almost off the page! Where is everyone? How's the exercise challenge going?

I just did my "2 mile walk" video -- it was pretty good. It's very simple, just 30 minutes of low-impact aerobics. I really really didn't want to exercise; I was so tired this afternoon, especially after walking a few blocks in the cold with my head still stuffed up. But I can't do this fast without exercising, it just won't work, and if I'm going to suffer hunger and deprivation -- not to mention the money I'm spending -- I am going to make it work! I'm glad I did get off the sofa to exercise, though, b/c I feel good now. At any rate, if anyone is looking for a very simple, very low-impact aerobics tape, I recommend this one.

What? We were almost off the page? There will be none of that this year! :D We are going to stay motivated, get fit, and make this thread busy, busy, busy!!!!

I've got day two down! After work, hubby started dinner and I changed into sneakers and warmer clothes and hit the sidewalk! I was cruising down the pavement, it was COLD out there. You know usually once you get moving and warm up a little you don't notice the cold, but I didn't get to that point tonight. It's -13 celsius with the windchill factor. Regardless, I got in my 30 minute walk. I think this may be a plan for me. If I go as soon I get home from work, I haven't sat down and gotten comfy...once I do that, forget it.

Everyone sounds like they are doing great....let's keep it up!

I take water with me every morning when I go out to do my papers, and this morning it was so cold out my water-bottle was full of slush when I got home!

Not as much water today, I'll get 64oz in me, not so great on the eating, but am writing everything down.

Desparately pre-menstrual, but surviving.

L

Remind me not to complain about the weather this season. I feel sorry for you gals!

I had to take Grif in for a face checkup. We will need more work in about a year. Dermabration and laser treatments to start. There is gonna be scar tissue to get rid of. But it now just looks like a scrape. A bad one, but not 60 plus stitches.

I returned to work today. Just a half day. Chris is watching the Fast and the Furious. Such a guy movie. All that racing makes me nervous. Can't stomach it.

~flower

I walked today too!

Ok My food was pretty good until dinner and I blew it! Two days in and bamm!~!

I didn't technically exercise, it has been in the 20's and low 30's here for the past two days so going out was not an option.... On top of that we are having septic tank problems :( So I have had a really fun day! I think that was what blew my diet was the fact I am stressed to the max!!!

Got to get the emotions in check!!! Having a really hard time not purging up dinner too! Grrrrrrr~

Sounds like everyone else is having a great start! :)

Hope all is well,
Amy
176/149/130

Amyjo :nono: no purging! You know it's not good, and you know why. As far as blowing it on dinner, it's no big deal. The great thing about this is that every morning we get a fresh opportunity to stay OP and get through the day. So, take a few deep breaths, get a good night's rest, and start over tomorrow. Been through the whole septic tank cleaning, then cleaning and replacing all the pipes that carried it safely through the waterbed in our backyard (not the kind of waterbed one sleeps in) and having tractors chewing up our lawn. You know what? Eventually it got fixed, the bill got paid off, the lawn grew back, and it was a thing of the past. I guarantee your septic problems will get worked out and you'll deal with it. :)

Flower, glad to hear Grif's face is healing. I've wanted to see that movie that Chris is watching. Would have been better in the theatre, though.

Lamorgan, it's really biting cold here. My face has a lovely windburn from my quick walk tonight. Hope it fades before work tomorrow. :o

Night, girls! Have a great day tomorrow!

Wildfire; where do you live in Toronto where you have a septic??? We have an old septic that probably hasn't been used in 20 years. There is this gross ominous pipe in the basement that has not been capped properly and I need to get that done before too long... Yucky.

I'm trying to remember to moisturize every morning and night so my skin doesn't turn to leather. I've heard that it is dryer in Ontario than the Sahara. My ego would not be too happy if I'm thin with skin like an elephant!

Christmas holidays are far too long. :( They need structure, and I need A HOLIDAY.

L

It's finally snowing here so we took a long walk in the woods in the snow. I love that "shhhh" sound it makes as it's falling thru the trees! Between the brisk pace of the walk and generally staying warm I bet I burned some calories! Later on I'll do my dumbell routine and yoga.

On a snowy day there's the strong temptation for me to just get cozy and eat all day but I'm trying to resist!

As long as I don't have to worry about going to work I LOVE SNOW! :D

Eydie ~ Your getting the snow we were suppose to get... we got all of the yuck and none of the pretty stuff. My kids were pretty disappointed. We were not suppose to get but an inch but instead we got freezing rain and ice. Make a snow ball for me... maybe we will get some this year- everytime we talk about moving my kids pre-requisite is we can move anywhere that it snows...:)

Wildfire ~ I didn't purge and I must of not done as poorly yesterday as I thought because the scales say I am back down to 146 (who can trust a scale though) I have got to get rid of all the junk in my house. I think the candy is going to work with DH tomorrow and I will freeze the baking stuff.

Ruthie ~ Weigh in today or tomorrow? Glad your feeling better!

Flower ~ I am so glad that Grif is starting to feel better. You have had a year!

As for Fast and Furious, that is one bad movie- DH saw it at the movies 3 times, we have the same year eclipse as the one they blow up in the movie. DH was like I would paint it that same color green.... I can just see us now! We love cars, one of the things we hope to have when we buy our next house (besides decent sewage?) is a place for us to restore cars. I want a Mustang Shelby like the one in "Gone in 60 Seconds" another good car flick...

We have someone coming to pump the septic tank tonight... that should keep us another year / year and a half.. which is all we plan on being in this house... We have petitioned to be put on city sewer but that doesn't look like anytime soon. It isn't just our house that has problems it is the whole neighborhood. The tanks don't drain correctly and hence when they fill up (generally with water- which is our problem) it runs back in the house (like it did last night) and I only washed 2 or 3 loads of clothes yesterday... DH called me on the cell phone (using some not so nice words) informing me that the septic tank was full again and giving me the riot act about how many loads of clothes had I done, who had had showers.... I will be so glad to move out of this house.

Our game plan is for now to pay off DH's Car like in the next 3 months, use the extra money from the car note to pay down our few credit cards and then 6 months after I graduate and have had a job- We plan, for us to start looking for a house with about 10 acres of land. Buy it, keep this house for as long as it takes to prepare the other house (our house note on this house is cheaper than rent) We have 3 fish tanks that will have to be transfered and a koi pond that will have to be built so that will take a while then after everyone is moved, then we will paint the inside of this house have the carpets cleaned and put it up for sale.

Well I have rambled long enough I have got to get it in gear. I don't think I told you guys, I got hired on at the womens and Childrens hospital here in town as a Student Nurse... It will give me some insight into what I might want to do or not do after I graduate.

Amy
176/146/130

Goddam weigh ins! If I haven't said this before, and I'm sure I have, I HATE THEM!!!

I was actually up 1/2 a lb. since Saturday. I told the director, there is no way I am going through weekly weigh-ins as the only measure of my success. If I'm going to do that, I'll go back to Weight Watchers. Then I burst into tears. She agreed to weigh me every other week. That was about all the advice she had -- for that, I could be back at WW.

On the way home, I started thinking and realized that I simply can't give up, no matter what I have to do to lose weight, this is it. It's not about whether Opti Fast is a good program or WW, or whatever. I just have to do it. For all the things I've given up or lost in my life for the sake of something else, I can't let this drag me down. I have to be the best person I can be, in every way, from here on out. I have to stop being lazy and start cleaning my house and going for walks and generally just get up off the sofa. I have really retreated in the past year, into my own little kingdom, while I just wait for the future to happen. The future is almost here, and I'm still 50 lbs. overweight. I have to not only drink these stupid little sugar-water drinks, I have to be active, and exercise, and not be a slug. Otherwise, it's not worthwhile.

Now, I'm not sure all that makes sense. I just don't see how a person's weight could actually go up on 800 calories a day for six days. And I have been exercising! From now on, though, I am bracing myself and going out into the cold to do my evening walks like I used to -- or maybe I'll do them in the mornings now. I'll save the videos for really bad weather.

Room for another?
 

Hello everyone:wave:

I'm here to do this again... I won't say I'm loosing weight - "loosing" implies that it's something I'm trying to FIND!!!!! :rolleyes:
I've done TOPS, phentermine and worked for WW for almost 3 years after loosing 85 pounds (after loosing and regaining 65). I was a leader and I'm proof positive that a career as a WW leader does not exempt you from weight gain...

I'm a central Oregon transplant from California (Bay Area), working for my family's business - which has me sitting on my butt for 9 hours a day. I live in a very VERY rural area and once I can actually see the road I will start walking. Until then, it's the tapes in my front room...

Actually Flower, I was just about to start a thread like this because it didn't seem like there was anywhere on this site that was openly welcome to Pagans (thanks!!). I hope there's room on this thread for one more:^:
I also wanted to add, from my experience, unless a Dr. has told you to cut your calories to 800, that's far too drastic a cut for your body to loose weight. With loosing a combined total of over 130 pounds I can tell you from experience that if you cut too much your body thinks it's starving and will put any food you do eat into storage - hence the weight gain... I hope this helps and that I didn't step on any toes! :)

Blessings,
Terri

Welcome Punkinseed!!! Always room for one more!

Ruthie, I've got to tell you when I first started this whole weight loss journey I gave it all my attention, put all my energy into it. I was working out for a couple of HOURS every day and really watched what I ate. I was so freaking SINCERE about it all and I weighed myself after the first month and I had gained 6 pounds! :mad: :mad: :mad: :(
I was so mad, mad enough to spit! But I'm happy to say that I hung in and didn't give up and I'm so thankful to whatever power out there gave me the strength because I was crushed! And after all the ups and downs I'm down 35 pounds and that was 4 years ago. It's a fact that I'll probably be trying to lose those last 5-10 pounds the rest of my natural life but I can see how far I've come and I'm so grateful that I didn't set some arbitrary timeline for myself.
So hang in there; don't give up!

Thanks, Eydie. Your words helped me keep it in perspective. I went for my walk in the cold tonight and thought about a lot of things. I think as with everything I went to extremes with this Opti Fast and thought this would be IT and it would be like magic and all the weight would be gone by June. That's probably not how it's gonna go...and in fact, I'm debating how long I will want to stick with Opti Fast -- I promised myself no longer than April. I just started, so I will have to wait and see how it goes. I only want to do this if I will lose a lot of weight fast, b/c it really can't be all that healthy -- 17 g of sugar in each drink! More than anything, I just have to put my head down and be convinced that I am now committed to weight loss, for good.

Punkinseed, welcome. Thanks for your comments on my program. Just so you don't think I'm crazy, it is medically supervised and I know I have to exercise in order for it to work. I'm just feeling frustrated in the same way Eydie said she was.

Lamorgan, I live in Oakville, but I'm in an apartment here. I've only been in Ontario for 4.5 years. Where I lived in Nova Scotia we were in the county and therefore not on the city water or septic systems. We had our own well and septic system. On the moisturizer, I can't seem to put enough on! I'm at that point in the winter where I get the itchies my skin is so dry, even though I moisturize twice a day and drink lots of water. When it gets really bad, I put unscented baby oil on right after getting out of the shower. At least it stops me from itching.

Amyjo, glad things look better this morning, at least scale-wise. We, too, are getting our finances in order this year, and are making arrangements to consolidate some debt so we can pay it off quicker. Congrats on the student nurse position!

Ruthie...did you remember the weigh-in rules? Wear the same clothes and shoes or if you weighed in with no shoes don't wear them the following time? Half a pound is pretty easy to pick up just in clothes. Did they not measure you as well as take a starting weight? Give it a little more time. Two more weeks until you weigh in again? You should definitely see a difference by then. I'm with you on the "just do it" attitude.

Punkinseed, welcome to the group! :wave: Always room for another. Our little group has seen many come and go over the last two years or so, but we seem to be down to us "regulars" these days. Hope you stay for a while. (If you look through the threads list, you'll find more of our older threads.) With two incredible weight losses, I'm sure you have lots of tips to share!

Eydie, when do you go back to work? I wish I were still off. I was sitting staring out my office window thinking "I could be burning calories out there walking, but no....I'm stuck here doing financial reports..."

Flower, how was your day?

Gotta run, hubby has dinner ready. Will be heading out for a walk afterwards. Thankfully it's a bit warmer here...hovering at 0 degrees celsius.

Hi. Just came back from the clinic from my annual exam. NPsays she heard a few extra heart beats. I called my mom in a panic and she told me that she, my sis and my grandma have them too. I will try and relax. I should go check them out, but the clinics she named we in North Town. I would rather see if I can find somewhere nicer. Yes, I should like a snob but I want to feel safe... I am still looking for affordable insurance!

Work was okay. I packed up stuff. We are moving our office from Henderson to the West side of Vegas. I burned calories and got paid for it! :) The scale said 181 this morning. Gotta stay away for a week. Tell my childrens dorittos to stop calling me! I have almost talked my boss into getting a microwave fro the office so we can stop eatting out. She always pays so it isn't about the money, but the waistline.

I walked 2 times today. Yeah me! ~flower

Punkinseed, welcome. I completely forgot my manners!

Oh, damn, I had written a whole long message and then accidentally hit some button or other that made it disappear...but I was probably ranting again anyway, so I'll summarize the things I've decided.

*First and foremost, exercise MUST become a part of my normal, everyday routine.

*I won't stay on Opti Fast unless I start losing min. 2 lbs./week. It's just not healthy -- the drinks have some protein and vitamins, but mostly sugar, and no fiber. I'd kill for a salad right about now!

*If Opti Fast does work out, I'll do it for two or three months, depending on how well I tolerate it. That should bring me to around 130 lbs., and I'll take it from there with regular dieting.

*I have to lose the idea that I'm on a time schedule, that I "have" to weigh 100 lbs. by the time I start grad school in September.

Wildfire, thanks for the reminder about the weigh in "rules," but that's exactly what I hate about weigh ins -- worrying about every little piece of lint in your pockets! And worrying that your weight at that one moment in time is what your whole success is based on! I weigh myself every morning in my underwear, and I am going to watch those weights for a trend downward.

Flower...if the NP didn't tell you it was serious, I wouldn't worry. Better a few extra beats than too few, right! ;)

Amy, congrats on the student nurse job. You're right, it should give you a good idea of what you might want to do in the future.

All right, I am going to go now, and I am going to start trying to post less. My thinking is getting a little disorganized -- I have so many goals at once and so much in my brain. Sometimes I scare myself.:lol:

Hey guys!

Where is everyone? Today has been a good food day so far but I still have several hours awake so I am not going to count chickens before they hatch.

I am starting to wonder if I am retaining fluid because weigh-in this morning was 144 were monday I was at 150? I don't know but I can say I am much happier at 144 than 150...

Ruthie ~ Take some of the advice someone elses gave me, just give it a couple of weeks and quit stressing! You didn't gain your weight in a week, you're not going to lose it in a week. I am like you I would look at yourself on the Opti-fast for a short while and see how your doing, nothing is written in blood saying you have to stay on this program! You should not beat yourself up regardless....

Punkinseed ~ Welcome!!! hope you have found your happy internet home. :wave:

I am dragging rear so I think I will make it short and sweet... Be good this weekend!!!

Post soon,
Amy
176/144/130

Finally, Friday! The short weeks are always the longest.

Well, I blew it today. We had pizza for dinner. I am not walking tonight....it's too cold and blustery out there. Going to get cozy and watch a movie with hubby. Tomorrow is another day, and I'm going grocery shopping to get good stuff to eat. (Main reasons for pizza...bare cupboards, tired Wildfire)

Ruthie, I don't find your thinking scattered at all. You're realistically evaluating this new program and setting some tentative limits. Nothing wrong with that. There was no way you could have known what it would really be like until you were on it. Keep posting! How is Guy, btw?

Flower, if the extra beats were anything to worry about, I'm sure you would have been told.

Amyjo, don't question the scale going downward! We don't need to know why, we just need to know when! :D

Eydie, Lamorgan, Punkin, how are you doing?

Welcome Punkinseed, sorry I didn't say hi before. :)

Blew it yesterday. Far too much wine and food. Today is a new day though, and it will be great.

Last night was the first time I've felt so full I feel ill in months and months. Yucky feeling.

Heading out to see mother-in-law today, couldn't go at new years, she was ill.

Over-indulgence; not such a great feeling.

L

Amy, thanks for the advice, I do need to stress less. Glad you're having weird scale anomalies, too. Wildfire, pizza and a movie! You devil! :lol: Oh, the Guy (sorry, I can't call him just Guy b/c I have a friend named Guy -- in fact, my friend Guy just got married and is expecting a little one, so if I was dating him it would be a horrendous thing!)...Well, once again we were talking and everything was fine. I have to go into the city today, so we were going to meet after my exam and do something, but yesterday I got the heebie jeebies again about some things about his present situation, so we are now holding off talking for a while, as we had before. As sad as I am about not speaking to him, I feel good about it in some ways. I would rather he resolve the issues that bother me, for his sake as well as mine, and I also want to know that I'm not being a co-dependent lunatic again, but that my feelings for him are genuine. I know I have had this tendency all my life to sort of obsess over a man, and center my life around him, and that has never had a good outcome -- in fact, it's what led to my two failed marriages, I would say. So if I can stop speaking to him for a while and carry on with my life, and then add him back into my life without it making any significant changes in my life except to improve its quality, then I know I am on to something for real. Make sense? I am trying very hard not to repeat the mistakes of the past. I think that's why weight loss is so frustrating to me; it's the one thing in my life I set my mind to and was unable to achieve.

OK, exercise report: I went for about a 40-minute walk (in the cold!) yesterday and the day before, so I am meeting the challenge so far! I think I was pretty active yesterday...did laundry, went to p/t job to pick up work, then went to the Gateway store and bought a PC for DD's 18th birthday :smug: , came home, walked, gave XDH a ride somewhere as a favor, then finally lay down on the sofa. Better than spending the entire day on the sofa, right?

All right, girls, I have to hurry up so I can get out of the house in time to go take this exam -- very important exam, wish me luck! It's my #1 school choice, but they're so competitive they actually make you take their own exam in addition to the usual application requirements. If I get in, it will be a miracle, but I gotta try. Later!

Overate last night and am feeling nice and 'round' today. Garry and I made a homemade pizza last night and split it right down the middle! I had intended to have only 2 pieces but, what can I tell you, it was really good! :lol: The only saving grace were the tons of vegetables we put on it. Pizza's just one of those foods that's easy to overdo, I guess.

Hello girlfriends! Wanna have a slumber party? :) We can do each others hair and makeup and not sleep at all. And we can chat and laugh and giggle and drive everyone in the neighborhood batty!!!!

Okay, so you are busy this weekend.... I understand! :p

I walked each day of 2002! I am going to try for an hour brisk walk today. The wind picked up yesterday and it cleared all the haze away. The mountains are so crisp and clear in every direction. We all are getting colds. Thankfully colds go away pretty quickly. Griffins poor immune system! But his appetite is back. Yipee!!!

I am going grocery shopping later on. I need to go thru my coupons. Knowing me, I will put it off so much that it won't get done til tomorrow night. A budget and the grocery store-not fun. I want to do my taxes. Wish my info would get here. I will get $ back as will Chris. We saw a dodge truck for sale down the street...or I could fix my back door and put in some sod.

I defrag the computer last night. Why do I wait so long to do stuff like that. It is so quicker. Kinda like windexing the car windows. It doesn't take much effort but the results are spectacular! I must start doing stuff on time. I am early but my chores are always late!!!!

Well, I am rambling, tootles~flower

Flower, wish we were all close enough to get together for a night, I think it would be a blast!

The highlight of my day was going to buy a new toilet seat. :rolleyes: But, I did find the matching teapot to the cream and sugar dishes I bought after Christmas last year, and for only $6.00 on the clearance table!! Gotta love that. Gave the apartment a quick cleaning, that was all it needed after my major clean at New Year's. I'd like to keep on top of it so it doesn't seem like I have to spend half my weekend doing housework and feeling guilty because I never seem to get it all done. I've had company in this apartment (we've been here 2.5 years) a grand total of two times, so I've decided it's pointless to worry about how it looks here all the time. No one sees it but us! So I'm doing light tidying up through the week, and the vacuuming, dusting, mopping on the weekend. It's working so far....I only spent an hour this afternoon and the place is sparkling.

Eydie, I see the pizza struck more than one household last night! Oh, and Lamorgan got hit, too, although not with pizza. :D

Ruthie, it sounds like you've got your head on straight where the Guy is concerned. You know what's best for you, and it sounds like you aren't willing to settle for anything less. How was the exam? When will you get results? I hope it went well.

Did okay today. I didn't eat much but I feel really bloated. Tomorrow is a new day, and I'm going to start the week off on a good note!

Oh, has anyone tried the Red Berries cereal with the dried strawberries in it? It's yummy AND low fat! Got myself a new box today. :D

I didn't exercise yesterday, AND I snuck a little food. *Sigh.* It's ok. I think over last week I lost either 2 or 3 lbs. I just don't remember exactly where I started.

Flower, good for you with the walking! I want to do my taxes, too, so I can do my financial aid applications for next year for both me and DD. My employer has been screwing things up right and left recently; I hope they don't also screw up sending out reports.

Looks like I'm in good company where slipping off program is concerned! Let's all jump back on the wagon!

Oh, the exam...it went a lot better than I expected -- I hope I have reason to feel confident:^: . The school posts last year's test on their web site as a sample of what it's like, and the sections I anticipated would be rough were much easier than I thought. Not that I think I aced it, but I think I gave a good representation of my knowledge and writing abilities. I hope...they told us yesterday that they will notify us of their decisions about the third week in March. So that's just a little over two months away! Yay! I think I should hear from all schools I applied to by April 1.

Ruthie, glad the exam went well. You'll probably be accepted into all the schools you applied to, then you'll have to decide which one you want! If you snuck a little food, I hope it was something worth sneaking. :D

It's snowing here this morning. Really fine, almost misty snow. It's not blowing around, but you can hardly see the buildings a mile away. I'm going out for a walk in it. There's something about snow that blankets everything in a quiet hush while it is falling.

Let's get this week going on the right foot!

Just got in, went to see mother-in-law 3 hours away, and the weather (although lovely to look at) was horrible to drive in. Snow and ice. Tense and grumpy, I'm glad to be home.

School tomorrow for all! Yahoo! We got a lot done in the house over the holidays, glad I was able to tap the energy while it was coursing through me.

Drank lots of water today, not sure how much since I had 5 people in the truck helping me drink it. :( Heading off to bed soon, tomorrow is a new day and I'm going to be very, very careful about what goes in my mouth.

Bought new underware, medium instead of large.

I need a new toilet seat too! We did take our $25.00 gift certificate to Canadian Tire and bought new kitchen taps, on sale from $109 to $82 (canadian!) dollars. Less the $25 dollar gift certificate, and it was a good deal. It's nice to have water pressure in the kitchen again, with taps that don't scream when they're on hot!

Old houses, go figure.

I'm really ready to settle into a dull winter routine. I've had as much holiday eating and drinking that I can possibly take.

Good night everyone!
L

I walked yesterday -- my 30-minute route had been 40 minutes when I walked in the dark (we have bad sidewalks around here!) but yesterday while the sun was still up it was 30 minutes again.

I had some food again yesterday. I'm pretty sure my calories were still under 1,000 for the day, though. I will try to keep to the fast all this week and see what happens. I did lose about 3 lbs. the first week, so that's good. I think the food that was tempting me is now all either eaten or in the garbage (it was stale -- I didn't just throw it out b/c it was tempting me!). I am now looking forward to my Tuesday night support group at the Opti Fast clinic. I hope it will be worthwhile.

You know, I didn't really celebrate much yesterday; the scale said 151, and I haven't been at that low a weight since I don't know when, maybe 2000. So yay for me! And I hope to keep hitting weights I haven't seen in a long time.

I'm thinking I'd really rather do something like three shakes a day and have like a salad and some melba toast or rice or even a hard boiled egg or something for dinner. I just can't stand the thought of all that sugar being my only intake -- 105 g a day, it's just unbelievable. I don't know, it's kind of problematic that the program director is an idiot. I was very disturbed by her inability to respond to my weight gain at the first weigh in, so I really don't have faith now that she can appropriately respond to other questions or concerns I have. (She also couldn't answer one of my first questions, which was if I could have carrot sticks while fasting. She told me to ask the nutritionist -- what????) So I might be more inclined to just do things myself. I mean, I'm the paying customer, and I didn't sign any contracts or make any promises to anyone but myself. Not only that, the director herself made multiple comments to me about the other clients in the program being yo-yo dieters and that they were cheating during the holidays, yadda yadda. So I think as long as they get their $$ they're happy. OK, time to go hand in a school assignment. Later.

Oh, Lamorgan -- congrats on the underwear size!

Congrats Ruthie on your loss, sticking with such a strict program must be challenging. I'm thinking of a spring cleanse (fast) at Spring Equinox, but don't know if I could do it at this time of my life.

Next month on Feb 4th I celebrate 4 years not smoking! Four fast years, is life excellerating, or is it just me???

Funny about the underware... I kept picking out size large, and then put them all back and bought medium. I figured they were cheap ones, if they didn't fit, no big deal. So far they fit!

On program this morning, feeling in control. Hope to stay that way all day.

Going to eat some Vegie soup for lunch, and perhaps a rice and cabbage casserole for dinner. John hates cabbage, but it's such a comfort food for me.

Bye for now!
L

Hello Monday. I am so happy this morning. My children are returning to school. Yes, I have to go to work too. But someone else can have their blasted temper tantrums!!!

My scale said 180 today! I am surprised cause I have been stress eatting. But my meals are smaller.

I finally like tea! I am so happy to have graduated from over sweetened coffee that gives me heartburn. I have only enjoyed the fruity ones, but 1.5 teaspoons of added sugar has so much less calories that cola, cocoa or lemonade first thing in the am!!!

And it is warm and relaxing!!!

I am moving boxes today and furniture and it we are quick, we will be painting too. (boss wants a peachy/coral office) So, no nice clothes for me today. Well, I had better go do something with my afro. I went to bed with wet hair last night. Very scary!!! ~flower

Lamorgan-congrats!!!! Underwear reduction is the most wonderful feeling!!!!!